August 16, 2014

Nigeria: Ebola patient discharged in Lagos, declared fit (updated)

The first female doctor to be infected with the Ebola Virus Disease, has been discharged from the quarantine unit of the Emergency Operation Centre of the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, Lagos State.

The Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, who disclosed this at a press briefing in Lagos on Saturday, said the female doctor was one of the doctors that had primary contact with the late American-Liberian ‎Patrick Sawyer, who died of the Ebola Virus Disease in Lagos.

Chukwu, who was accompanied by the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, said the discharged patient had been given a clean bill of health by experts managing confirmed cases.

According to them, she is the first patient to have survived the deadly disease in Nigeria.

Chukwu said, “The EOC has advised me to announce that the first ‎Nigerian to have been confirmed to have the Ebola virus disease has this evening been discharged from the isolation unit at the Mainland Hospital, Lagos.

“I have consulted with the experts, and they say clearly that there is a discharge protocol that was employed for this particular patient. It has been followed strictly and was concluded today‎ and what you are getting now is the final outcome.

“Ordinarily if she had been afflicted with another illness she would have been discharged long before now.”

The minister stated that the health of the other five patients in isolation was improving.

“The total number of confirmed cases of EVD in the country is now 12, with four deaths and 189 under surveillance in Lagos and six in Enugu,” he said.

Responding to queries concerning the welfare of the Ebola victims under the care of the response team at the EOC , he allayed such fears regarding the standard and quality of care.

He said, “As you are aware, the patients under treatment have now been moved to the new 40-bed capacity isolation ward provided by the Lagos State Government. Additional equipment has also been made available to the new isolation ward by the Federal Government.”

On the controversy surrounding the use of some experimental Ebola drugs ‎being proposed for adoption by the Federal Government, he said the drug failed to meet the requirements for approval.

He said, “You will recall that last Thursday. I announced that we were ready to deploy an experimental drug, Nano Silver.

“Although the drug has since last Thursday been made available to the EOC in Lagos. It has not been administered to any patient because we were awaiting clearance by ‎the National Health Research Ethics Committee.

“I regret to inform you that the drug did not meet the requirements of the committee.”

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The first female doctor to be infected with the Ebola Virus Disease, has been discharged from the quarantine unit of the Emergency Operation Centre of the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, Lagos State.

The Minister of Health, Prof Onyebuchi Chukwu, who disclosed this at a press briefing in Lagos on Saturday, said the female doctor was one of the doctors that had primary contact with the late American-Liberian ‎Patrick Sawyer, who died of the Ebola Virus Disease in Lagos.

Chukwu, who was accompanied by the Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, said the discharged patient had been given a clean bill of health by experts managing confirmed cases.

According to them, she is the first patient to have survived the deadly disease in Nigeria.

Chukwu said, “The EOC has advised me to announce that the first ‎Nigerian to have been confirmed to have the Ebola virus disease has this evening been discharged from the isolation unit at the Mainland Hospital, Lagos.

“I have consulted with the experts, and they say clearly that there is a discharge protocol that was employed for this particular patient. It has been followed strictly and was concluded today‎ and what you are getting now is the final outcome.

“Ordinarily if she had been afflicted with another illness she would have been discharged long before now.”

The minister stated that the health of the other five patients in isolation was improving.

“The total number of confirmed cases of EVD in the country is now 12, with four deaths and 189 under surveillance in Lagos and six in Enugu,” he said.

Responding to queries concerning the welfare of the Ebola victims under the care of the response team at the EOC , he allayed such fears regarding the standard and quality of care.

He said, “As you are aware, the patients under treatment have now been moved to the new 40-bed capacity isolation ward provided by the Lagos State Government. Additional equipment has also been made available to the new isolation ward by the Federal Government.”

On the controversy surrounding the use of some experimental Ebola drugs ‎being proposed for adoption by the Federal Government, he said the drug failed to meet the requirements for approval.

He said, “You will recall that last Thursday. I announced that we were ready to deploy an experimental drug, Nano Silver.

“Although the drug has since last Thursday been made available to the EOC in Lagos. It has not been administered to any patient because we were awaiting clearance by ‎the National Health Research Ethics Committee.

“I regret to inform you that the drug did not meet the requirements of the committee.”